The LA Kings skated to their first victory of the preseason, as they defeated the Anaheim Ducks by a 2-1 final score on Wednesday evening at Honda Center in Anaheim.
Anaheim opened the scoring midway through the opening period through forward Ethan Procyzsyn. After a neutral-zone turnover by Kings forward Martin Chromiak, Anaheim came back the other way quickly. Attacking off the rush, Los Angeles netminder Anton Forsberg made the initial save with the pad, but the Kings couldn’t clear the rebound and Procyzsyn buried the goal for the 1-0 advantage.
With 64 seconds left in the opening period, the Kings got on the board as forward Andre Lee created for Alex Laferriere. Lee started the play by forcing a turnover at his own blueline, which led to a 2-on-1 rush the other way. Lee eventually worked his way into the middle of the ice and although his shot missed the net, Laferriere buried it off the endboards for his first of the preseason and a tie game.
The Kings struck again just 41 seconds later, however, to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Defenseman Drew Doughty got things started with a good stretch pass, which found Joel Armia, leading a 2-on-1 rush. Armia kept the puck himself and buried his shot top shelf, high glove side, as the Kings flipped the script to lead by a goal through 20 minutes.
Neither team found the back of the net over the final 40 minutes, as Forsberg and the Kings held the fort down, skating to a 2-1 victory.
Hear from Armia, Lee and Head Coach Peter Laviolette after tonight’s win.
